Immortal
by Djehuty3
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto, Immortal, Shinobi, and former Hokage, sat comfortably on his ledge above the ruins of Konoha, and waited. He did not have to wait long.


-1The traveller eased himself down onto the ledge, his legs dangling off the cliff. He pulled the straw sakat from his head, and set it beside him.

It had been a long time since he'd been here. A very long time. And there was something missing. Something-

Ah. He smiled nostalgically, and pulled the Hitai-Ate from his robe.

Uzumaki Naruto, Immortal, Shinobi, and former Hokage, sat comfortably on his ledge above the ruins of Konoha, and waited.

He did not have to wait long. Another sat down besides him, and left another Sakat on top of the first.

"Heya, Dead-Last," he said, by way of greeting.

"S'up, Sasuke-Bastard," Naruto replied. "So the Eternal Mangekyou worked?"

"Apparently. Nine Tails still keeping you around?"

"Uh-huh. He says hello, by the way."

"Really?"

"No."

Sasuke snorted amusedly. "Thought not. So how's life treating you?"

"Eh, it's been worse. Been doing a little covert work for The Yang Tsu. They need Shinobi like anything, but since they're all aristocrats-"

"-They think loyalty can be bought and sold," finished Sasuke.

"Exactly. Not what I'd call good employers, by any stretch of the imagination, but once they cottoned on to the whole "Immortality" thing, they've been far more polite. 'Course, now they're trying to weasel how I do it out of me."

"Hnh. Not surprising."

"Nope."

They shared a friendly silence. Naruto reached into his coat and pulled out a flask. He took a pull on it, and then offered it, wordlessly, to Sasuke. The Uchiha took it with a nod of thanks.

"So what about you?" asked Naruto, idly. "Doing anything interesting?"

"Uh-huh. You know the Ramaya?"

"The demon worshippers?"

"Those are the ones, yeah. They've been looking for a chief of police. I was passing through when they offered me the job."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"Well, I've got the Mangekyou, so there's the whole "demon summoning" thing-"

"Always a plus when your bosses are demon worshippers."

"Right, and I've got a family background in law enforcement, all kinds of experience, and two hundred years worth of shinobi training. They didn't exactly beg, but it was a pretty close thing."

"Huh. So how'd you get off duty? Compassionate leave?"

"Nope. Said I had a case to solve."

Naruto sniggered. "A case to solve? You sound like friggin' Jiraiya when he was watching Film Noir!"

"Shut up," was the amiable reply.

They sat in companionable silence for a while.

"You ready to go down?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Naruto didn't say anything for a long while. Then, "yeah. I'm ready."

Wordlessly, they pushed off the cliff face, and fell silently down past the great carved faces of the Hokages.

They walked like tourists through the great, silent city, pointing at landmarks of their youth.

"Hey, look! The telephone pole! Dude, I used to love climbing that thing! Best view in Konoha!"

"Hey, isn't that Ichiraku's? Damn, man, you used to live in there. I remember that time when you actually sleep-walked out here!"

"Heh. Yeah. Hinata was so mad…"

On and on the two prattled, slowly coming closer and closer to their destination.

And then they were there, their talk dying away as they stood at the graveyard gates.

Then they moved, silent as ghosts and reverent as mourners, amongst the tombstones, searching for the names of their friends and loved ones.

"Hey, Hinata-kun," Naruto murmered, kneeling down on the wild grass over the grave. "I know I haven't been around in a while, but I thought about you all the time. I kept an eye out for the other Hyuugas, like you asked, of course. You know Shigui, Neji and Tenten's kid? Well, his grandkids have this compound out Kirigakure way. I dropped in a couple of months ago. They all kept calling me "Revered Ancestor Naruto." Gods, that made me feel old.

"We've got great-grand-kids, by the way. Miyo got hitched a couple months back, and they've already got a bun in the oven. Man, I was so proud. Great-grand-kids, Hinata! Man, I'm barely over the grand-kids."

He paused for a moment, looked down again.

"I haven't been with anyone since you died, you know. I know the vows were all "'till death us do part,", and maybe you've already- well, you know- moved on wherever you are, but… Ahh, I guess I'm just a romantic at heart, you know?

"Well, that's it, I guess. Not much going on in my life. Work, mainly, and that kinda gets boring after a while, you know?

"Still love ya, babe. Believe it.

"Bye."

"Hello, Sakura."

Sasuke didn't kneel at his wife's grave. He'd always found it hard to do this, and kneeling was as personal as you could get.

"Naruto sends his regards, by the way. He misses you, of course, but… well, he's got Hinata to find.

"I… Gods, I'm not good at this. I keep thinking I'd write you a letter or something, like I used to. You know, it was always easier when I wrote to you; I could say all the things I wanted to, but without having to actually say it out loud. It always got so… tangled up… whenever I tried that. I was worried you'd laugh. Still, I should… I should say it out loud, shouldn't I? Especially here. Especially now.

"I love you, Uchiha Sakura. Even though you've gone where I'm not sure I can ever follow you, I love you. And if I live a thousand years, I'll still think about you every time the Sakura trees bloom, or the sun rise paints the sky that bright red you always wore.

"Every time, Sakura. Every single time. I swear it."

They left soon after, and this time they went silently. They each had far too much to think about to prattle about their lives, and the weight of the loves they'd lost weighed heavily upon them. So they walked, silently, through the empty streets of long dead Konoha, and remembered times past.


End file.
